West of England line#Worting Junction

{{Infobox rail line

| box_width =

| name = West of England line

| color =

| logo =

| logo_width =

| logo_alt =

| image = Templecombe 159004.jpg

| image_width = 300px

| image_alt =

| caption = Templecombe station in February 2010

| type = Suburban rail, Heavy rail

| system = National Rail

| status = {{fontcolor|green|Operational}}

| locale =

| start = Basingstoke

| end = {{stnlnk|Exeter St Davids}}

| stations = 21 (Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids)

| routes =

| daily_ridership =

| open =

| close =

| owner = Network Rail

| operator = South Western Railway

| character =

| depot = Salisbury TMD

| stock = Class 158 "Express Sprinter"
Class 159 "South Western Turbo"

| linelength = {{convert|120|mi|77|ch|km|2|abbr=on}} [Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids]
{{convert|172|mi|12|ch|km|2|abbr=on}} [London to Exeter St Davids via SWML]

| tracklength =

| tracks = {{Plainlist|

2 (Basingstoke–Salisbury)
1 (Salisbury–Pinhoe)
2 (Pinhoe–Exeter St Davids)}}

| gauge = {{RailGauge|sg|allk=on}}

| minradius =

| electrification =

| speed = {{convert|90|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} maximum

| elevation =

| map = 300px
(Click to expand)

| map_state = uncollapsed

}}

The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from {{Stnlnk|Basingstoke}}, Hampshire, to {{stnlnk|Exeter St Davids}} in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line at {{Stnlink|Salisbury}}. Despite its historic title, it is not today's principal route from London to the West of England: Exeter can be reached more quickly from London Paddington via the Reading–Taunton line, with this route providing the only direct route to destinations west of Exeter.

History

Once all sections had been incorporated into the London and South Western Railway, the sections and branches were:

Basingstoke to Salisbury
Basingstoke to Andover, opened 3 July 1854
Andover to Salisbury, opened 1 May 1857
Branches:
Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway opened June 1901, closed 30 May 1936
From Hurstbourne and Andover to Romsey and on to Eastleigh and Southampton: both closed. Link via Longparish opened 1 June 1885; closed 6 July 1931.
At Andover, junction with the Midland and South Western Junction Railway to Cheltenham
Bulford Camp branch
Salisbury to Romsey, with a branch to Bournemouth
At Salisbury, the Great Western Railway (GWR) line from Westbury and Bristol had its own terminus: the L&SWR continued the route southeast towards Southampton. This route is known nowadays as the Wessex Main Line.
Between Salisbury and Exeter:
Salisbury to Yeovil, opened 2 May 1859
Yeovil to Exeter, opened 19 July 1860
Branches:
To Yeovil Town (joint station with the GWR)
To Chard (joint station with the GWR)
To Lyme Regis from Axminster
To Seaton from Seaton Junction (closed)
To Sidmouth from Sidmouth Junction (also alternative route to Exmouth)
To Exmouth from Exmouth Junction near Exeter

The Beeching Report identified the duplication of routes from London to the West Country, therefore British Rail downgraded the line in 1967 by reducing long sections west of Salisbury to single track.{{Cite web|last=Sedgwick|first=Cathy|date=2021|title=Dinton Railway Station|url=https://www.wiltshire-opc.org.uk/Items/Dinton/Dinton%20-%20Railway%20Station.pdf|access-date=24 February 2022|website=Wiltshire OPC Project}} This restricts the number of trains on this section, but passing loops have been added to alleviate this.

Route

Trains between London Waterloo and Exeter run on the South West Main Line as far as {{Stnlnk|Basingstoke}}. The West of England Line diverges at Worting Junction, a short distance west of Basingstoke.

Network Rail splits the line into two sections: the first section from the line's start at Worting Junction to Wilton Junction (near Salisbury) is classified as "London & SE commuter", while the section from Wilton Junction to Exeter is a "secondary" route. The secondary route west of Salisbury is predominantly single track, but has three sections of double track and four passing loops. The double track sections and passing loops are: a loop just outside Tisbury station, a loop at Gillingham station, double track from Templecombe to Yeovil Junction, a loop at the former Chard Junction station, 3 miles of double track centred on Axminster, a loop at Honiton station, and double track from Pinhoe to Exeter.

The line's speed limit is mainly 80–90 mph over its whole length from Basingstoke to Exeter.{{Cite web| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/routeplans/2010/route%20c%20-%20wessex.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091728/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/routeplans/2010/route%20c%20-%20wessex.pdf| archive-date=2 April 2015| title=Route Plan C Wessex| date=March 2010| access-date=11 March 2015| publisher=Network Rail| at=p. 9, figure 4}} Speed is further limited around the junctions. The first section to Wilton Junction has a listed line speed of 50–90 mph, and the secondary section to Exeter has a line speed of mainly 85 mph with parts at 70 mph.{{Cite web| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/routeplans/2010/route%20c%20-%20wessex.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091728/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/routeplans/2010/route%20c%20-%20wessex.pdf| archive-date=2 April 2015| title=Route Plan C Wessex| date=March 2010| access-date=11 March 2015| publisher=Network Rail| at=p. 29, figure 20}}

Worting Junction

File:Aldershot,_Ash,_Shalford,_Basingstoke,_Guildford_&_Peasmarsh_,_Wimbledon_RJD_4.jpg Junction Diagram, on which Worting Junction is shown as Battledown Junction]]

File:Worting-Junction-by-Rik-Johnson.jpg

When the line was first opened in 1854, Worting Junction was constructed as a flat junction.{{cite book|title=The Railway Handbook ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTI7AAAAIAAJ|year=1945|publisher=Railway Publishing Company Limited|page=16|quote=... the railway to Southampton at Worting Junction, near Basingstoke, and was opened to Andover in 1854, to Salisbury in ...}} This required that down trains heading west and up trains from Southampton cross each other's paths. Initially this was not a great problem, however as traffic and speeds increased the junction became a bottleneck. To relieve this, a flying junction was provided to the south, opening on 30 May 1897. This changed the arrangement so that up trains from Southampton line now crossed over the up and down Salisbury lines on Battledown Flyover, {{frac|3|1|4}} miles west of Basingstoke.

North of Worting Junction, stopping services to/from London Waterloo and CrossCountry services to/from the North of England via Reading use the outer pair of tracks, while express services to/from London Waterloo use the inner pair of tracks. The inner pair of tracks are unelectrified through the junction and continue towards the west to Salisbury and Exeter.

Current operations

File:Honiton - SWR 159003 down train.JPG

Passenger services are operated by South Western Railway using Class 159 and Class 158 trains. They generally run half-hourly from London to Salisbury and hourly to Exeter, calling at {{stnlnk|Clapham Junction}} and/or {{stnlnk|Woking}} and then most stations between Basingstoke and Exeter St Davids, although some smaller stations east of Salisbury and near Exeter have a reduced service.{{cite web| title=Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter| work=Electronic National Rail Timetable| publisher=Network Rail| date=May 2015| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/May15/timetables/Table%20160.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222142538/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/May15/timetables/Table%20160.pdf| archive-date=22 December 2015| access-date=15 October 2015}}{{Cite web| url=https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/globalassets/pdfs/timetables/timetable_no20.pdf| url-status=usurped| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810160116/https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/globalassets/pdfs/timetables/timetable_no20.pdf| archive-date=10 August 2016| title=Timetable No. 20| website=South West Trains}}

The 2006 Network Rail South West Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy recommended building an extended section of double track from Chard Junction to Axminster, and a passing loop at Whimple. However, Network Rail's 2008 Route Plan{{cite web| title=Route 4: Wessex Routes| work=Route Plans| publisher=Network Rail| year=2008| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2008/Route%204%20-%20Wessex%20Routes.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607083035/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2008/Route%204%20-%20Wessex%20Routes.pdf| archive-date=7 June 2011| access-date=6 August 2008}} was silent on the Whimple loop. The Axminster Loop is centred on Axminster station, and does not extend to Chard Junction as originally proposed. The line between Basingstoke, Salisbury and Exeter is not electrified.

Other lines beyond Exeter

Beyond Exeter, the line continued to Plymouth via Okehampton and Tavistock as the Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR. This line is now partly closed, with the surviving sections downgraded to branch lines. The section from Exeter to Coleford Junction, near Yeoford, is still in use as part of the Tarka Line (a community railway, which continues to Barnstaple). The Dartmoor line runs from Coleford Junction to Okehampton, having reopened to regular passenger services in late 2021, after being run as a heritage railway from 1997 to 2019. The track is still extant to the former Meldon Quarry railway station to the west, where the track breaks. Tavistock lacks a rail connection, and the final section of the original main line, from Bere Alston, continues to Plymouth as part of the Tamar Valley Line.

References

{{cite web| author=Network Rail| work=Business Plan 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206211256/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3102_Route%203%20South%20West%20Main%20Line.pdf| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3102_Route%203%20South%20West%20Main%20Line.pdf| archive-date=2012-02-06| url-status=dead| title=Route 3 – South West Main Line}}
{{cite web| author=Network Rail| work=Business Plan 2006| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3103_Route204%20Wessex%20Routes.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092058/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3103_Route204%20Wessex%20Routes.pdf| archive-date=2007-09-29| url-status=dead| title=Route 4 – Wessex Routes}}
{{cite web| author=Network Rail| work=Business Plan 2006| url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3110_Route%2012%20Reading%20to%20Penzance.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926132656/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3110_Route%2012%20Reading%20to%20Penzance.pdf| archive-date=26 September 2006| title=Route 12 – Reading to Penzance}}
{{cite web| website=Ordnance Survey| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112101428/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/| url=http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/| archive-date=2008-11-12| title=(home)}}

Bibliography

{{cite book|author=R.V.J. Butt |title= The Directory of Railway Stations |publisher=Patrick Stephens | location = Sparkford |year=1995 | isbn = 9781852605087 }}
{{cite book|author=J.H. Lucking |title=Railways of Dorset: an outline of their establishment, development and progress from 1825 |publisher=Railway Correspondence and Travel Society |year=1968 | location = Lichfield | oclc = 31916}}